§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the current situation concerning genocide and human rights in southern Iraq, and what information they have about the shelling of civilians by government forces, the taking of civilian hostages and the diversion of the principal rivers away from the marshes.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)We are aware of reports of continued human rights abuses in southern Iraq. Incidents of the type described by the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, have been documented in the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur to Iraq. We deplore the Iraqi regime's continued abuse of human rights throughout Iraq, including in the south, in direct contravention of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, which called for the immediate end to repression against the civilian population.